There’s no other way to say it: Mark Richt is in trouble at UGA
This was Mississippi State's first touchdown Saturday. It would add two more. (AP photo)
I wouldn’t have thought such a thing possible a month ago or a week ago or even 24 hours ago, but here it is:
Mark Richt is in trouble.
It was possible to write off Georgia’s first two losses as having come against superior opposition. It is not possible to write off losing in Starkville. It is not possible to square all those ballyhooed recruiting classes with being 0-3 in the conference. It is not possible to look on the Bulldogs as anything more than a middling SEC team.
Five years ago, how many other league schools would have gladly traded their coach for Richt? Nine? Ten? How many would today? Maybe three, and that’s depending on how Ole Miss feels about Houston Nutt this week. Too many SEC programs have caught and passed Georgia, and this has nothing to do with the superpowers in Tuscaloosa and Gainesville. Consider:
Last year Georgia lost to Tennessee in Year 1 of Lane Kiffin. Last week Georgia lost to Arkansas in Sanford Stadium in Year 3 of Bobby Petrino. Last night Georgia lost to Mississippi State in Year 2 under Dan Mullen.
No longer does an opponent tremble at the sight of Georgia approaching. On the contrary, this has become — three weeks running! — the team you want to play if you’re looking to establish your program.
The old Steve Spurrier critique of Ray Goff — “Georgia gets all these players … I don’t know what happens to them” — again applies. Georgia doesn’t lack talent. It simply cannot bring its talent to bear. Its new 3-4 defense mustered one sack against Arkansas and Ryan Mallett. Its touted offensive line was able to carve out 113 yards rushing against Manny Diaz’s Mississippi State defense. Its offense could not score a touchdown against South Carolina and needed 58-plus minutes to manage one in Starkville.
There has been no improvement week over week. There is only a weird stasis. The weeks and the opponents change, but Georgia looks no different. How does that happen?
Loading ...Granted, the season might look different had A.J. Green played these four games. But he didn’t because he broke a rule, and that’s the other reason Richt is in trouble. A coach can get away with having his players mess up off the field if the coach keeps winning big on it. But Richt is 10-9 dating back to Nov. 29, 2008, and guess what cheery news awaited him on his return from Mississippi?
You got it. Another player has been arrested.
When I say, “Richt is in trouble,” I don’t mean I expect him to be fired this week or even after this season. I think Greg McGarity, the new athletic director, will err on the side of patience with a coach of such distinguished pedigree. (And a strong finish to this season — winning the next eight and beating Auburn and Florida en route — would effectively get Richt out of trouble.) But the loss at State seems a tipping point. It seems the game in which the majority of Georgia fans stopped seeing Mark Richt as the answer and came to regard him as the problem.
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1,529 comments Add your comment
Bama Stan
September 26th, 2010
9:50 pm
This is great, how is it in the cellar boys? The view and weather is great from the penthouse. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer fan base. I think another black out would cure all your problems
Rt. Rev. Fark Richt and Deacon Bozo
September 26th, 2010
9:52 pm
OC Bozo should bring back Ray Goff, and let him build a Zaxby’s in the end zone. Then watch those dawgs woof up some offense.
Bama Stan
September 26th, 2010
9:53 pm
Did you notice that it all seemed to start going down hill after that thugish endzone celebration against UF? I still remember that stupid smirk on Richt’s face. Karma boys, karma.
Dawg of 1970
September 26th, 2010
9:53 pm
Coach Richt is attempting to make men out of the boys that he is sent. He is not only a coach but a role model for these young men who obviously have had little discipline at home. Give him a chance–most of you are just Monday Morning Quarterbacks who couldn’t perform half as well as Coach Richt. He is a Christian man who will have a positive influence on many of his players. I thank God for men like Coach Richt.
Yellow Fuzz
September 26th, 2010
9:53 pm
Coffey Bluff Dog
“come on here talking like big men knowing that UGA is having a down year”
Hahahahaha. Funny that we all knew it 5 WEEKS AGO and you and the koolaid crowd did not.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAAHHAAHAHHAHAAHHA
GatorGuy
September 26th, 2010
9:53 pm
If UF covers the spread against Tide, does that mean UF good, Dawgs bad? I took logic in college, but am having tough time following this. Lets go back to a golden oldie. When UGA last won Nat’l Championship, ATL airport had 2 runways (Wright brothers were still around). Now it has 5 runways. Will the airport have more runways when UGA wins BCS or will airline travel be obsolete by then. UGA looking too much like Airtran.
Gatorbait 17-3
September 26th, 2010
9:56 pm
Bama Stan
You are right and Richt has been paying ever since.
Slim
September 26th, 2010
9:57 pm
Keep CMR please!!! I’m enjoying watching UGA suffer year after year.
Nut Job
September 26th, 2010
9:59 pm
I’m a long time Dog fan. Been going to games for well over 20 years. Where in the world did we get this idea that we were one of the elite programs in the nation? Flordia and Alabama…elite. Texas, Oklahoma…elite. USC…elite. UGA…average with the exception of a few years in the 2000’s. 1 National Title in our school’s long history and that was 30 years ago. Yes, every school has its ups and downs, well aware of this. With the athletes that this state produces, either the scouting services are dead wrong about Georgia talent, or we suck at coaching them to their fullest potential. Pick one and fix it. If our states athletes aren’t that good then why do they all go to Alabama and SC and become better? The overall coaching of these players has got to get better. The days of just putting athletes on the field and letting them play is over. These kids need to be taught how the game is played and they need to learn fundamentals fast.
2002 -2005: 44-9 (2 SEC Championships and 3 total appearances in SEC Title game. 2006-present: 39-17 (0 SEC Championships and 0 appearances in the SEC Title game.
Things change…the game changes… Coaching changes. The things that worked back in 2002-2005 are not working. If something isn’t working, you fix it if you care about it. UGA football isn’t working right now. It needs to be fixed if Richt cares about it. He does care about it…so I’m assuming he will fix it. This doesn’t end with Bobo getting canned. Many things need to change.
2010 – 1-3 so far
2009 – 8-5 Indy Bowl Win
2008 – 10-3 Capital One Bowl Win
2007 – 11-2 Sugar Bowl Win (vs. Hawaii though lol)
2006 – 9-4 Chicken Bowl Win
2005 – 10-3 Sugar Bowl Loss (SEC Champs) (Long 5 years ago)
2004 – 10-2 Outback Bowl Win
2003 – 11-3 Capital One Bowl Win (Loss in SEC Champ Game)
2002 – 13-1 Sugar Bowl Win (SEC Champs)
Bama Stan
September 26th, 2010
9:59 pm
Gatorbait, and Meyer will continue to make him his little biatch.
Gatorbait 17-3
September 26th, 2010
10:00 pm
Dawg of 1970
No one would ever say Richt is not a wonderful human being is every sense of the word. The problem
is he is not a very good head coach. Remember Bobby Bowen said, ” I don’t know if Mark is tough enough to be a head coach.”
GatorGuy
September 26th, 2010
10:03 pm
UGA not suffering. As long as Tech stays out of BCS, UGA good. No suffering here. CMR will be around awhile. And so will the rest of us “journalists” who can’t afford cable so we post this stuff. As a comedian once said ” No one pays for this #%$@t”. Any chance UGA moves UF game back to Athens. We are coming up on the 15th anniversary of that little get together. Break out the history books and get the winner on that one. Or better yet, go to the Ray Goff website and see the hat with all the grass stains. I think it has Terry Jackson’s footprint on it.
The Curse of Loran
September 26th, 2010
10:04 pm
Bama Stan, you are on the money about the end zone celebration. That showed a disappointing lack of class.
Bama Stan
September 26th, 2010
10:04 pm
At least all the dogs out there can watch a little Big Boy SEC football this weekend. You are all welcome to be honorary Alabama fans
blackprix
September 26th, 2010
10:04 pm
I’m not a GA fan but it seems to me Richt is following in the footsteps of Jim Donnan.
Great recruiting classes but does nothing with them. Something has to give and it’s usually the coach that goes.
Gatorbait 17-3
September 26th, 2010
10:05 pm
Bama Stan
Had to look “biatch”, up—-that wasn’t very nice————-NOT.
War Eagle 30082
September 26th, 2010
10:06 pm
You Dawg fans are nuts. CMR is a fine Christian man, and he takes all of his players to church on Sunday. His primary responsibility is to make sure these young men are educated and become rock solid Christians. I hope and pray that UGA does not fire CMR.
Remember, all have sinned. All fall short of the glory of God.
War Eagle!!!
Ed
September 26th, 2010
10:09 pm
Mark,
WTH do you have against Mark Richt? I hope the players don’t read all of this crap. I am a dawg fan through the good and bad. If UGA fires Mark Richt then we will be in the same situation the next couple of years. I believe Mark Richt will make the right moves to put UGA back to where they once was.
aladawg
September 26th, 2010
10:10 pm
Getting rid of Mark Richt is definitly not the answer to the problems the Bulldogs are having. This is just a down couple of seasons in Athens, not unlike any other program. Heck, Vince Dooley was at UGA for 25 years and didn’t always have winning seasons. In his first 18 years between the hedges, he only had 6 seasons with 8 or more wins, until they won the national championship in 1980. In all 9 years of the Richt era UGA has had only 3 seasons with only with less then 10 wins, and 2 conference titles. We’ve got a good coach between the hedges, lets leave him alone.
I do agree that there seems to be a discipline issue with the players both on and off the field, and there needs to be some stiff discipline applied in both cases, all depending on the severity of the violations.
lightbulb72
September 26th, 2010
10:10 pm
After seeing some of the comments post by my dear, fellow Bulldog fans, I truly feel that Coach Richt needs a “stay of execution”. I live in Pennsylvania and trust me, I have bragged about my beloved Bulldogs. By reading the comments and seeing the games myself, we need to rid ourselves of Mr. Bobo. I truly do not like to see someone losing their job but if that person was hired to perform a function and does not come through, then it maybe time to replace the problem. I know what play are going to be called up here in PA, “run on 1st, run on 2nd, maybe, run on 3rd with the possibility of a “screen pass”. There is no imagination to this offense. If AJ were in the offense, it would probably most of the same that I described. However, my fellow UGA fans, we are a “mid-level” tier SEC school right…..we have been for a long time…..it is time to wake up to reality!! I want to step up to the BIG LEAGUES, too!!! I will always love UGA!! ….I am, however, ashamed of some of the comments that showed bigotry and racism toward our team for I am a UGA alum in Pennsylvania, black, 6′ 2″ with dreadlocks…….and NO, I did not play any sports! I just love my DAWGS!!!!!!! RIGHT THE SHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
geno
September 26th, 2010
10:10 pm
“Mike Bobo is a damn good Dawg, but the wheels started coming off the bus right around the time CMR handed over the play calling duties so that he could be ‘more of an executive that manages the game…’”
Great post, dcbl…i think the he deserves the remainder of the year, but some serious considerations must come into play soon…took too long on willie martinez and should not be given that much more time to correct a weakness…a great man, but what has happened to the great coach?
Old Fashioned
September 26th, 2010
10:10 pm
I wonder if Bobby Knight can coach football? I’d love to see his kind of discipline installed—-at any football program in the country!
Ed
September 26th, 2010
10:11 pm
That’s not KJV
Fuzzy oyster
September 26th, 2010
10:11 pm
And to think, CMR will never take another Gatorade shower. Always swooned over his wet look.
Bama Stan
September 26th, 2010
10:15 pm
I am thinking another Black Out will make everything alright. i still have fond memories of that night in Athens. all the doggie fans dressed for their own funeral
Billy
September 26th, 2010
10:15 pm
Maybe Jimbo can bring Richt back to Tallahassee!
One Question
September 26th, 2010
10:15 pm
Many posters have spoken of CMR as a fine man and a wonderful role model. I, for one, do not question this at all.
I do have this honest question: As a wonderful role model, why aren’t more players following his example?? Is Saban, Spurrier, Johnson, Brown, Tressler, Nutt, Miles, etc., better role models (in fact every other BCS coach) because they don’t win the Fulmer cup?
Just asking…
techengineer
September 26th, 2010
10:17 pm
No excuses for losing to a Miss St team. GA has better athletes. Bottom line Richt has kept bad offensive and D coordinators for years even after it was obviout that they did not measure up. Bo Bo is out of his league and this has been obvious for a long time. However, has Richt been proactive? helll no! He finally got a new D coordinator after 5 years of prodding.. But Richt is the one responsible for these below avg coordinators!
techengineer
September 26th, 2010
10:19 pm
GA will not beat Col. No way no how even with Green’s return. GA is outcoached even before they set foot on the field and yest GA does have far superior athletes!
Lefty LaRue
September 26th, 2010
10:20 pm
Everything should be okay now that the scout team linebacker has been dismissed. Take that! Now, the really bad boys only get a one-game suspension. If Richt wants to teach some lessons . . . teach AJ one after his suspension ends. Dismiss him. Cesspool program.
GHSA Region 1-AAAAA Committee
September 26th, 2010
10:21 pm
Staff, we have reviewed your resumes and don’t think you would be a “good fit”
DawginLex
September 26th, 2010
10:22 pm
The kid I feel the most sorry for is Aaron Murray. He continues to perform at a high level, doing everything he can to win. He is surrounded by idiotic teammates who continue to make stupid mistakes that destroy any chance of winning. He is also being coached by a OC that continues to be in way over his head. Until those things are fixed, we will keep losing and underachieving.
It is time for Coach Richt to take back the play calling and continue with the zero tolerance on stupidity. Unfortunately, Baker was the first victim. Actually, Ealey should have been suspended indefinitely and we might be 3-1 right now.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s time to remove redshirts and let the younger players get experience for 2011, especially on the defensive line.
savdawgfan
September 26th, 2010
10:25 pm
The program is clearly at a crisis point…If I were hired as Coach Richt’s “crisis counselor,” I might suggest two things:
1) Bench Bobo and say “the offense is my responsibility for remainder of the year.” Show the urgency and need to make things happen for yourself and the team – make that change and let things play out (hint: you might consider using short-intermediate passes to ESTABLISH a run…just an opinion!
2) Go zero tolerance on certain indiscretions and make it public – show you are a step-ahead of other program sin this area to get the focus off of the incidents. Regardless of who you are, you screw up bad enough and you are gone…this will also get your kids to be more focused on ball rather than (in some cases) other things…..
Good luck coach
If all else fails…..go hard after Gruden when the year is done!!
esfritzi
September 26th, 2010
10:25 pm
Couldn’t happen to a better team; Richt can’t even get a good haircut! It looks that he tried to trim the back of his head with a weedwacker. Mister Cool, Calm and Collected is the worst game day coach in the SEC.
DamntheButcher
September 26th, 2010
10:26 pm
Firing Mike Bobo is not going to solve a damn thing!!! That would be like taking a Asprin when you need a Quadrouple bypass. The coaching staff is a cancer. The only way to correct this mess is to clean house from top to bottom.
Gatorbait 17-3
September 26th, 2010
10:27 pm
After Georgia was embarrassed 35-14 in Knoxville in 2007, Richt had this to say:
“As I looked around, I was seeing that everybody was kind of waiting on someone else to do something, coaches and players. I was getting kind of mad at them until I looked in the mirror and realized that they were just basically reflecting me. I was sitting there watching, waiting for somebody to do something, too.”
“I do remember that game distinctly,” Richt said. “If you’re talking about 60 minutes of football, I don’t think there’s any game that felt more empty than that day.”
And now after an embrassing lose to Miss State, Richt mans up and kick a freshman off the team. Now that’s a real leader of men.
Dawg with bag over his head
September 26th, 2010
10:28 pm
Hitasingle, pass the koolaide back over to Life long dawg and Dawg of 1970. You’re fooling your selves if you think this is going to get any better without firing CMR. “Fans” like you have gotten us to where we are today.
Joseph
September 26th, 2010
10:31 pm
Fact is…noone cares, noone wants to win. All we want is an SEC or National Championship, but once we lost to SC, we were written off. Now, the fans don’t care if we win and the players don’t care if we win.
Gatorade
September 26th, 2010
10:31 pm
I’m on here cuz my cousin is from Augusta,Ga. and is a big Dawgs fan.
Plus its fun hearing those of you that want to keep your coach after losing three straight to SEC teams. Add the fact that he acts cocky and arrogant while getting beat and I’m amazed at UGA fans.
Gatorbait 17-3
September 26th, 2010
10:31 pm
DawginLex
We don’t agree on much, but I do agree that Murray is the only ray of sunshine on that sorry team.
This kid could be great with good coaching and a supporting cast, but Green won’t be the answer.
He can’t throw to deep to Green with that o-line.
Gatorade
September 26th, 2010
10:33 pm
Silly little Dawgs, football’s for Gators.
Gatorade
September 26th, 2010
10:34 pm
Yeah, we like Murray cuz he’s from Tampa,Fla.
steveinga
September 26th, 2010
10:37 pm
All the condemnation proves there is a difference between being a supporter and fan. I remember signs back in the 70’s in Athens that read Dooley Must Go. Good thing the powers at the time didn’t cave into the whims of those fans. Coach Dooley coached us to a National Championship and as many of us believe came within one game or going back the following year. You ‘fan”s need to take a look at the long history of UGA football. We have had some bad years. I remember seven straight loses to GT. The program survived. The program will survive this. CMR is capable. Like I have told my children and grandchildren, you ain’t never gonna find a “fan” under a faded team ball cap. Stop your sniffling, crying, and belly aching you bunch of fair weather “fans’ and get behind the team. This is when they need us the most. It’s like being married, you do it for better or worse. This world has got way to many back seat drivers, arm chair quarterback, and sunday morning coaches to dumb to figure out why they are sitting where they are. Ya’ ll; experts, send your resumes in to CMR, he could use some humor right about now.
Dawg 555
September 26th, 2010
10:40 pm
I have a question. What year were the UGA athletes allowed to live outside the athletic dorm (McWhorter) and also, was this imposed by NCAA or is it up to the individual school? Back in the 70’s, there was a feared curfew at UGA.
Playa Hater
September 26th, 2010
10:41 pm
Ealey for Heisman ? Ha ! Ha !
Richt's Acconutant
September 26th, 2010
10:43 pm
Trust me, Mark doesn’t care if UGA fires him or not. He will be paid $8 million severance and get another great college head coach job.
Richt's Acconutant
September 26th, 2010
10:45 pm
Like Vandy or Kentucky.
Will Bishop
September 26th, 2010
10:47 pm
I don’t know if Mark Richt is the problem. But one thing I do know is that the play calling has been horrific and the offense line that was suppose to be a force is anything but. If Richt does stay Bobo may be gone.
Dawg 4 Life
September 26th, 2010
10:48 pm
steveinga., Maybe if one of us was getting paid $2 million dollars we could suck at coaching as much as Richt does. Plus we don’t want to be the coach. We just want another coach to see if he can turn 4 & 5 star high school recruits into winners on the field.
shinny cockrell
September 26th, 2010
10:49 pm
THEY NEVER HAVE BEEN AS GOOD AS THEY THOUGHT THEY ARE—–WHO LET THE DAWGS OUT—WHAT A JOKE—HUNKER DOWN YOU HARRY DAWG—-WHAT A JOKE—–PUNCHLINE—-IT’S THE SEC—THATS NO JOKE